Friedman, Aimee 1979-

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Friedman, Aimee 1979-

Personal

Born 1979, New York, NY. Education: Vassar College, B.A. (English), 2001. Religion: Jewish.

Addresses

Home—New York, NY. E-mail—aimee@aimeefriedmanbooks.com.

Career

Editor and author of young-adult novels. Works as a children's book editor in New York, NY.

Writings

YOUNG-ADULT NOVELS

South Beach, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2005.

A Novel Idea, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2006.

French Kiss, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2006.

Breaking Up: A Fashion High Graphic Novel, illustrated by Christine Norrie, Graphix (New York, NY), 2007.

Hollywood Hills, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2007.

The Year My Sister Got Lucky, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2008.

Work included in anthologies, such as Mistletoe, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2006, and 21 Proms.

Sidelights

Born and raised in New York City, Aimee Friedman started her writing career at age five and established her career as a book editor after completing college in 2001. Her first novel, South Beach, set the pace for Friedman's brand of young-adult fiction: books that appeal to older teen girls through their focus on the romantic and fashion foibles of likeable young women. Other novels by Friedman include A Novel Idea, French Kiss, and The Year My Sister Got Lucky, and she has also collaborated with artist Christine Norrie on the graphic novel Breaking Up: A Fashion High Graphic Novel. Praising French Kiss, which finds a chic Parisian-born New Jersey teen taking a close friend under her wing during a whirlwind trip to gay Paree, School Library Journal critic Alice DiNizio wrote that Friedman presents teens with "a charming story of friendship and growing up."

In A Novel Idea Friedman introduces Norah, a Brooklyn teen who decides to start a book club in order to boost her level of involvement in extracurricular activities to impress college admissions boards. Although Norah's literary tastes range toward romance novels rather that weighty literary fare, the club promises personal benefits: it meets at a local bookstore where a crush-worthy guy manages the coffee bar. When cute, literary-minded James joins the group, Norah developes a surprising strategy to win his heart. "Secret crushes, altered personalities, subtle humor, and one allusive author all add up to pure fun," wrote Kliatt contributor Stephanie Squicciarini of A Novel Idea. Praising the book's city setting and "quick-witted" heroine, Emily

Garrett added in School Library Journal that Friedman's "references to numerous popular-culture icons will grab the teen crowd's attention."

With its focus on slightly younger teens, The Year My Sister Got Lucky finds high-school freshman Katya Wilder and older sister Michaela relocating from Manhattan north to rural upstate New York. Although the studious Michaela blooms in the more relaxed rural lifestyle, Katya has difficulty fitting in with her less-fashion-forward classmates. Friedman's plot unwinds with a subtle message. As the relationship between the sisters matures, Katya "discovers … that sometimes it takes a move to feel at home," observed a Kirkus Reviews writer, the critic dubbing The Year My Sister Got Lucky a good choice "for ultra chick-lit fans."

In the pages of Breaking Up Friedman "moves from giggly gossip, instant messages and lattes, to a thoughtful exploration of the difficult time … girls have reconciling their friendships, and learning to accept each other for who they are," according to a Publishers Weekly contributor. In the story, Chloe Sacks is an underachieving junior at a prestigious arts high school where being trendy is all-important. When her best friend Mackenzie begins to gravitate toward the ultra-popular crowd and Chloe finds an affinity for the studious Adam Stevenson, their friendship may be threatened. A secret is divulged, social ambitions are deflated, and sexual pressures are thwarted in what Booklist reviewer Gillian Engberg dubbed a "likable story of rocky friendships and romances." Praising Norrie's black-and-white art, School Library Journal critic Lisa Goldstein called Breaking Up "attractive and accessible." "The visuals have a bold, classic-comic look with occasional manga-inspired close-ups," wrote Katie Haegele, the critic concluding in the Philadelphia Inquirer Online that the "graphic" component of Breaking Up provides Friedman's readers with a "real treat."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2007, Gillian Engberg, review of Breaking Up: A Fashion High Graphic Novel, p. 56.

Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2007, Aimee Friedman, review of The Year My Sister Got Lucky.

Kliatt, November, 2005, Amanda MacGregor, review of South Beach, p. 14; January, 2006, Stephanie Squicciarini, review of A Novel Idea, p. 15; March, 2007, George Galuschak, review of Breaking Up, p. 28.

Publishers Weekly, March 5, 2007, review of Breaking Up, p. 63.

School Library Journal, July, 2005, Rhona Campbell, review of South Beach, p. 103; February, 2006, Emily Garrett, review of A Novel Idea, p. 130; July, 2006, Alice DiNizo, review of French Kiss, p. 102; March, 2007, Lisa Goldstein, review of Breaking Up, p. 237.

Voice of Youth Advocates, April, 2007, Rachel Wadham, review of Breaking Up, p. 46.